December 7, 2022 Kari Points, AO-Research, Iowa City VAMC - PowerPoint Presentation

1. December 7, 2022Kari Points, AO-Research, Iowa City VAMCAntonio Laracuente, Director of Field Operations Jason Berlow, Management Analyst, FinanceUnderstanding and Balancing the Status of Allowance1

2. Recording - This session is being recorded and the associated handouts will be available on ORPP&E’s Education and Training website within one-week post-webinar.Close Captioning - Now available in the new Webex platform. Click the “CC” button at the bottom left of the Webex screen.Experiencing Sound Issues? – Call in using the number in your Webex chat box or in your registration confirmation email.Q&A - Please use the Q&A feature to submit questions. Be sure to send questions to “All panelists”.Questions will be addressed at the end of the webinar.Webinar Archive - Most ORPP&E webinars can be found here:  https://www.research.va.gov/programs/orppe/education/webinars/archives.cfmPost-Webinar Evaluation Survey - We are grateful to all that complete the post-webinar evaluation survey. It will automatically pop up once the webinar is exited. For questions, please use Q&A box and address to “All Panelists.” All Webinars will be recorded and posted within one week.Webinar Housekeeping

3. Objectives – for today’s trainingTraining Section:By the end of this section, you will:Introduction: FY 23 Appropriation Status and Update on the Continuing Resolution and Update from IAA Training Update on FY 23 Appropriation and CRUpdate on requirement for OGC review form IAA Training on (10/19)Section 1: The importance of Status of Allowance (SOA)Understand key termsUnderstand impact of different activities on the SOAUnderstand the need to keep up with the SOAManaging under the Continuing ResolutionSection 2: How to Get, Read and Interpret the SOAUnderstand where to find the SOAUnderstand the different formatsUnderstand other tools that are needed (RAFT, AACS, Running Balance, VSSC F20)Section 3: Balancing Understand how to Balance the CeilingsUnderstand how to track SalariesUnderstand how to track expendituresQ&A3

4. Introduction: FY 23 Appropriation Status and Update on the Continuing Resolution4

5. FY 23 Appropriations StatusThe FY 23 President’s Budget Request is $916 million.Congress enacted the Continuing Resolution Act (P.L. 117-180). The CR provides funding through December 16, 2022 at an annualized amount of $882 million (to match the FY 22 Enactment). Congress will now attempt to either pass a full year appropriation by December 16th (less likely) or extend the CR into January and into the next Congress (more likely).For reference four (4) CRs occurred in FY 22, until enactment on March 11, 2022. 5Key Takeaway: Remain flexible it is likely will have a long wait for a full-year appropriation.

6. FY 23 Execution StatusCurrent Year Funding:  Funding has been distributed to the field (Transfer Disbursing Authority) to provide initial CR TDAs through December 16th.We sent out the CR Memo detailing guidance on how to execute during the CR. Sending out 1Q CC-101 - 1st week of December.Prior Year Funding:The Field has been provided guidance with instructions on how to obligate all prior year funding by 1/16/23 or risk it being swept.Conduct your salary cost transfers for PP21-24 as soon as possible. To date only $9.6 million has been done. Avg. payroll is about $20 million/PP. Approximately $51 million available in the field.6

7. OGC Review (of IAAs)Procurement Law Group review is only required for assisted acquisitions (or interagency acquisitions) which generally does not apply to Research IAAsPlease note governing VA policy does not require legal review. See VA Financial Policy Vol. I Ch. 11a and 11b and VA Acquisition Manual M817.503 (all of which only require legal review for IAAs that happen to also constitute “interagency acquisitions”). You can always opt to request a procurement law legal review even when not required: https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/OGC-Client/offices/PRLG/Lists/Request/Pending.aspxThe OGC Special Team Advising Research (STAR) is recommended if you have any other concerns about the IAA documents, ORD can facilitate getting your IAA to the correct POC in STAR:STAR will primarily review the Statement of Work. Attorneys are assigned by Region; the list of STAR Attorneys (by Region) will be provided by ORD Finance. OGC Procurement Law will primarily review the Statement of Work and the 7600 A/B. 7

8. Section 1: The Importance of the Status of Allowance (SOA)8Track our money? What do you mean? Who can help us?

9. Section 1: Key Terms Term DefinitionStatus of AllowanceReport provided by Fiscal or within VSSC that gives you total Ceiling, total Obligations and Current Balance information for each program and fund control point (ACC) by Fiscal year. Committed ExpendituresOrders that have been placed in VISTA that have received a transaction number but have not yet been obligated or in the case of Purchase Cards, reconciled and approved)PAID Personnel and Accounting Integrated Data (PAID) System. VA’s mainframe application that supports VA HR and payroll and benefits processes. For payroll purposes, PAID is used to process data for time and attendance and current VA payroll reporting requirements. PAID is a batch-driven system with nightly data processing runs and biweekly payroll runsF20D ReportDaily Activity by Account Classification Code report:  lists all FMS activity by ACC code for a period of time in the fiscal year.AACS - Automated Allotment Control SystemThe program in which to pull a list of TDAs, used to track the budget and allocations to Program Offices and VHA facilities.RAFT - Research Analysis Forecasting ToolThis is a web-based software program that will help track all ORD allocated funds distributed to your facility. This is where you can access your pink sheets and ITA Budget Memo.912/8/2022

10. Section 1: The impact of different activities on the SOAThe SOA is like a Cash Flow Statement allowing you to quickly review your Cash received to date (allocations), Expenses (obligations and commitments) and your overall balance.TDAs are the primary revenue source will appear in the Budg columnsObligations, expense transfers, Purchase card order appear in the OBL columnsYour current balance appears in the FYTD UnoblFiscal can move Ceilings (Budg) within a program at a facility (ex. sal to all other)Fiscal cannot move Ceilings across programs (ex. 81 to 82 or 84 to 81) or Fiscal Year (ex. BFY 22 to 23)1012/8/2022

11. The SOA is the singular most important report available to provide you a picture of where your funds currently stand.The SOA ties to the F20D and in some cases the Running Balances (the VISTA/IFCAP Checkbook).It should be reviewed no less than weekly for the following:Items in undistributedLarge balance changesPayroll distributionsAccrualsAs you get closer to the end of the year it becomes very important (this is what ORD Finance looks at).The pretty effect – keeping a clean status.12/8/202211Section 1: Keeping up with the SOA

12. Continue to follow the guidance from the memo FY 23 Continuing Resolution Guidance on Budget Execution:Hiring: Continue to hire personnel for projects that are starting under the Schedule B Appointment Authority (under 5 CFR 213.3227(a) for Research Positions). Do not wait for the full-year enactment to start staffing projects. The required documentation to submit to Human Resources to initiate hiring remains unchanged during a CR.Interpersonal Agreements (IPAs) with Affiliated Non-Profit Corporations (NPCs): Obligations (1358s) may be obligated up to the determined time frame that can be afforded by the continuing resolution.Contracting: Submit your acquisition packages into RPO East as early as possible. If you have equipment purchases or service contracts that are needed at any time during the year, enter them into IFCAP and FORCE and request Fiscal to allow you to overcommit (VISTA) by showing them the ITA or funding sheets. This is critical to helping Contracting execute actions sooner.12/8/202212Section 1: Managing under the Continuing Resolution

13. 13Section 2: How to Get, Read, and Interpret the SOA12/8/2022SOA? Can someone get me an SOA? BTW what does it mean?

14. Section 2: Where can I find the SOA?The SOA can be found two different ways:12/8/202214From the VSSC:From your Budget (Fiscal) Office: VSSC Link: VSSC - VHA Support Service Center SOA Link: SOACreateRpt - Report Viewer Your Budget Office can provide you with the SOA. Some sites have set-up SharePoint or shared folders for the SOA to be placed in daily. Others request the SOA via e-mail as needed.

15. Section 2: What are the differences in VSSC and Budget?12/8/202215VSSCBudget Office/FISCALWill only show FMS data. It will not show any funds that are committed but not obligated. Remember: Committed funds include contracts not yet awarded and obligated, 1358 transactions not yet obligated by Fiscal and purchase card transactions that have not been reconciled.Will only show the ACC number assigned to the FCP. It will not have the FCP number.Should show the committed (IFCAP pending) amounts if your Fiscal balances to IFCAP. This will only be for the quarter that you are in and will not show committed items for future quarters.It will also show the FCP numbers.

16. Section 2: Using VSSC 12/8/202216

17. Section 2: Using VSSC12/8/202217To view entire SOA for Research appropriationYou will want to select "Select All" for Select BFY, Select Program Code, Select ACC No, and Break out separately by. You can narrow it down by program and ACC code if you want to view only that specific information.

18. Section 2: Using VSSC12/8/202218The report will show a breakdown by Program. To see a breakdown by FCP, click on the plus sign next to 0161A1.

19. Section 2: Using VSSC12/8/202219The best way to view the SOA. Export it to Excel or CSV depending on how you want to view and utilize the format.

20. Section 2: Using VSSC12/8/202220The VSSC will also break down:The budget, obligated, and unobligated amounts by the Quarter you are in.  You should just focus on the overall year-to-date amounts

21. Section 2: Using Budget SOA12/8/202221FCP numberIdeally, the SOA you receive from your Budget Office should look similar to this example. It will have the FCP number, only show the FMS year-to-date information and have information from IFCAP that provides you with the pending (committed) IFCAP transactions.

22. Section 2: What other tools are availableRAFT – allows you look up funds sent by ORD to the station and can be broken down by PI, Program, and date range. Running Balance – IFCAP works like a checkbook. Broken down into two sections. The VISTA side and the FMS side. F20D – gives you daily activity to the control point (VSSC).Purchase Card Reports – tells you what transactions have not been reconciled. 12/8/202222

23. Section 2: Types of RAFT12/8/202223Go to Reports – Budget ReportsAll the Budget Reports are located on the left panel.Once you pull a report, there is an option to export to excel or pdf.View November 2022 training for more information regarding RAFT reports:Finance Monthly Training Series: Finding, Reviewing and Executing your Budget Allocations (va.gov)

24. Section 2: Running Balance12/8/202224

25. Section 2: Running Balance12/8/202225The 1st section of your Running Balance (top) reflects all transactions processed through VistA/IFCAP. 

26. Section 2: Running Balance12/8/202226All transactions and payments processed through FMS Section will transmit back to VistA/IFCAP and are listed on the 2nd section (bottom) of the running balance.

27. Section 2: Running Balance12/8/202227The final section of the Running Balance shows you:1) The Actual CP Balance:  This is the amount unobligated remaining in the FCP and includes pending transactions.2) Actual Fiscal Balance:  This is the amount unobligated and does not include pending transactions.  It should match the unobligated amount on the SOA if your Fiscal balances to IFCAP.3) Total Commit, not Obl:  This is the committed amount that is pending obligation.  

28. Section 2: Running Balance12/8/202228Pay attention to orders with these symbols as they are incomplete items.  Particularly important when closing out prior year funds as you will need to know about any open orders.

29. Section 2: F20D12/8/202229The F20D report in the VSSC allows you to view obligations that have hit FMS on a daily basis. It also allows you to review obligations for a specific date range.

30. Section 2: F20*Orange is normal Pay    *Green is PY Pay    *Blue is a reject12/8/202230

31. Section 2: Open Purchase Card MenuIf you have the approving official menu option in IFCAP, you can pull open orders (unreconciled) by Purchase Card Holder. This will allow you to know the amount committed but not obligated by each Purchase Card Holder.  This is particularly important when closing out prior year as you want to be closing out all open orders from FY22 right now. These open orders should be closed so that you can be doing cost transfers prior to the January sweep.Work with each purchase card holder to determine the status of their open orders. If items will not be delivered in December, close the purchase order and create a new one using FY23/24 funds.It is difficult to do cost transfers when you have items in pending as you need to factor in those amounts when requesting the cost transfer. In addition, ORD cannot see what you have in pending so the funds will get swept if the orders are not completed by January.12/8/202231

32. Section 2: Open Purchase Card Menu12/8/202232Select #2: Unreconciled Purchase Card TransactionsEnter beginning and end dateThe next report will show you the status of each unreconciled purchase card order sorted by purchase card holder.

33. Section 3: Balancing33Where are we? Do I have enough money?Why is fiscal saying, NO!?

34. Section 3: Balancing Ceilings34The ceiling is the FMS Budget column on the SOA. It represents the amount of funds you have received for the year.It is important to balance your ceilings as TDAs come in throughout the year.  The ceilings should be balanced to whatever system you use to track your budget (WinRMS, excel). Each time you ask Fiscal to place a TDA into a FCP, you should check the SOA the next day to ensure that it balances. You should periodically balance your ceilings to ensure that no changes have been made that you are not aware of.Balancing your ceilings means that the following all have the same amount for the FCP you are balancing:The funds in your FMS Budget column on the SOA.The TDA amounts that you have received and requested that Fiscal place in the FCP.The amount that you have allocated for that FCP into your tracking database.

35. Section 3: Balancing CeilingsCeiling Moves:You should request a ceiling move from Fiscal if you have a deficit in a FCP but not in the overall program. Note: You can move ceilings amongst a program but not across programs.  For example: If you have a deficit in a Salary FCP but have a surplus in an All Other FCP within the same program, you can ask Fiscal to move Ceilings from the All Other FCP to the Salary FCP to correct the deficit.  Moving ceilings to correct deficits makes the SOA easier to read and has a "pretty effect". After the Ceiling move request, you should balance the ceilings again to ensure the move was correctly completed.  The ceiling move should also be adjusted in your tracking method (WinRMS, Excel) so that you can ensure you stay balanced to the SOA.12/8/202235

36. Section 3: Tracking SalariesSalary Data comes from the PAID report. You can obtain the PAID report two (2) ways:Download into WinRMSFiscal sends you the PAID ReportRegardless of how you obtain the data, you need to balance your salary expenditures to the SOA.If you utilize WinRMS, it does salary projections, so you still need to track your salary expenditures using excel in order to ensure you are balanced to the SOA throughout the year.12/8/202236

37. Section 3: Tracking SalariesWinRMS will provide a sum for each salary FCP as it downloads each pay period.If you use a different method to track your salary, you will need to total all individuals in that FCP so you can have the overall expenditures. Below is a simple tracking method where the total charged by FCP for each Pay Period can be added as you move throughout the year.12/8/202237

38. Section 3: Tracking SalariesAs you are adding each Pay Period to the tracking spreadsheet, you should ensure that the expenditures balance to the SOA.  12/8/202238

39. Section 3: Tracking SalariesIf you don't balance, check the PAID report and Daily F20s to see if you can determine why you don't balance. Things to look for:TSP TransactionsTransit Benefit chargesPrior Year – WinRMS does not decipher between fiscal years when it does a salary download.  The F20 will tell you if a portion of the salary was actually charged to prior year FCP.Fiscal Adjustments12/8/202239

40. Section 3: Tracking All Other Expenditures12/8/202240Like Salary Expenditures, whatever tool you use to manage your budget needs to be rolled up to the FCP level so you can balance your expenditures to the SOA.The first step is to determine the total amount of expenditures for the FCP in your budget tracking database (WinRMS/Excel). This should include all obligated and committed/pending orders.  The second step is to pull the FMS Obligated amount from the SOA and add the committed/pending total from IFCAP.  Unless your Fiscal provides you with IFCAP pending on the SOA, you will need to determine the pending amount in IFCAP to balance.You can determine the Pending Amount using the tools described earlier in Section 2: Running Balance, Open Orders Menu.

41. Section 3: Tracking All Other ExpendituresThe amounts from Step 1 and 2 should match.Example Step 1 – Expenditure Amount from WinRMS FCP 4663 = 12/8/202241

42. Section 3: Tracking All Other Expenditures12/8/202242Step 2: IFCAP Pending Amount = $80,156.87+1,103,258.74 = $1,183,415.61       SOA FMS Obligated Amount = $285,700.42       Total = $1,469,116.03

43. Section 3: Tracking All Other ExpendituresWhat to do if you don't balance.Use the tools mentioned in Section 2:Check the Running Balance ReportCheck the F20 FMS Daily ReportTalk to your Purchase Card Holders – Did they do an adjustment to a purchase card order?If you can't find the discrepancy, you can also reach out to your Fiscal Office for assistance.  12/8/202243

44. SummaryUnderstanding the SOA is critical to budget management.Keeping up with the SOA takes a bit of work but it allows you to see drastic changes, missing funds and most importantly where you stand overall by program and appropriation.You have to make sure you separate CY from PY so you can clean up PY.12/8/202244

45. Questions45

46. Useful ResourcesVSSC - VSSC - VHA Support Service Center (va.gov)AACS -https://vhaarcwebaacsp2.vha.med.va.gov/AACSHome/index.jsp46